BERLIN (AP) — There is more hope than hope.
The Bundesliga will be watching to see if Borussia Dortmund can challenge Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker on Saturday.
Both teams are unbeaten after six matches, but Bayern have made a perfect start to the season with 11 wins from 11 games in all competitions, including the German Super Cup.
Dortmund dropped points against St. Pauli and Leipzig, but showed renewed resilience under new coach Niko Kovac. Still, the team has a long way to go before being considered a title contender.
“We don’t want to talk about things that don’t exist. We are in good shape, but Bayern are better at the moment,” Kovac said before facing his former club.
After six matches, Bayern have already scored twice as many goals as Dortmund (25 to 12) and conceded fewer goals (3 to 4).
The next closest challengers are Leipzig and Stuttgart.
major matches
While Munich’s Der Klassiker will win matchday 7, Bayer Leverkusen can confirm their comeback under the following conditions. New coach Kasper Yurmand in Mainz in the early hours of Saturday. The Danish coach has won three games and drawn one since taking over from Erik ten Hag, who was sacked after just two games.
Borussia Mönchengladbach also sacked their coach after a disastrous start, and subsequently their sporting director also resigned. Interim manager Eugen Polanski will take the team to Union Berlin on Friday, where new sporting director Ruben Schröder will make his debut.
The hosts of third-placed Leipzig, who were promoted to Hamburger SV on Saturday when Stuttgart play Wolfsburg, are also struggling with three straight defeats. There was no rest for Wolfsburg during the international break. Coach Paul Simonis’ team also lost to second-tier Hertha Berlin in a friendly.
Featured players
Harry Kane can’t stop scoring for Bayern, having scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga so far. The only time he didn’t score was when he scored twice in a 3-2 win over Augsburg. Kane too scored twice England defeated Latvia 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier, taking his tally of goals for club and country to 21 this season.
It will be Nico Schlotterbeck’s job to stop Kane in the center of Dortmund’s three-man defensive line. Schlotterbeck’s return from a six-month absence due to a knee injury coincided with the team’s stabilization.
Munich-born forward Karim Adeyemi is in his best form to date for Dortmund, thanks to his speed and power. Bayern’s defense is already preoccupied with the signing of Serhou Guirassy, leaving an opening for the 23-year-old German forward.
who is out
Leverkusen will likely be without Czech striker Patrik Schick and English defender Jarrell Quansar against Mainz. The latter missed England’s World Cup qualifiers with a knee problem, while Schick missed Leverkusen’s final two games and the Czech Republic game with a hamstring injury.
Malik Tillman is also questionable after missing a shot in America’s 2-1 win over Australia. thigh problems.
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